1. Technical Field
This invention relates to compositions and methods of treating a cytokine mediated disease by inhibiting Sema7A and VLA-1 interaction.
2. Background Information
Semaphorin family consists of a large number of phylogenetically conserved soluble and transmembrane proteins, many of which play diverse roles in axon guidance, organogenesis, angiogenesis, vascularization, oncogenesis and immune responses (1-3). Sema7A, of which expression is observed in both nervous and immune systems, is the only GPI-anchored semaphorin, and it was originally identified in a search for vertebrate homologues of virally-encoded semaphorins. Although Sema7A was shown to bind plexin-C1 (5), it has been suggested recently that Sema7A promotes axon outgrowth through β1-integrin in a plexin-C1-independent manner (6). However, it remains unclear how and to what extent Sema7A is involved in immune responses.